Conduit for electrical conductors.



No. 627,784. Pented lunek27, |899.

c. H. sEwALL.

CONDUIT FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS.

(Application led Apr.-24, 1899.)

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NiTnD STATES i PATENT Finca.

CHARLES H. SEWALL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CONDUIT` .FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,784, dated June 27, 1899.v

. Application filed April 24,1899.

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. SEWALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago,1 in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented al certain new and useful Improvement in Conduits for vElectrical Conductors, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to conduits for electrical conductors and the like, my object being to provide a form of conduit which shall be cheap inv installation, readily accessible, and possess many points of advantage over l structures heretofore employed.

Conduitslhave u sually been placed in the streets from five totwelve feet beneath the roadway,necessitating the digging of trenches v Furthermore, conduits have ,been laid in the large cities by such diverse interests and in such an unsystematic manner that in many streets itis impossible to lay further 4conduits or readily gain access to those already laid.

It is thespecialobject of the present invention to provide a form of conduit for streets which will not be open to this objection and which may readily provide for future growth in the demand for conduit service Without e excessive additional cost.

In accordance with my invention theconduits are formed within the material of the pavement itself, being supported withiny or upon the foundation of the pavement and being placed beneath the stones, bricks, macadam, asphalt, or other material forming the roadway of the paving. In my Patent No. 603,745, granted May l0, 1898, I have described a form of conduit in which inverted channels are laid upon a floor ofconcrete or similar material, over which a second body of concrete or like material is placed, the two bodies of concrete setting to form practically a single mass which effectively incloses the inverted channels, the interiors of Which constitute the conduits. I propose in practice to form the iioor of concrete, as above, and

sean No. 714,249. (No model.)

build up the conduit system,`and upon the of vertical columns or beams which support arched roofs, thus forming, in effect, a monolithic arched structure,-which is thestron gest possible construction which can be employed to accommodate conduits or passages there th rough. vIihile I consider this structure employing arched inverted channels preferable,

other forms of channels `may be employed with good effect or the conduits may be formed in any of the usual ways and still retainimportant features of my invention. The series of conduits may extend throughout the `whole or a portion of the width of the street or may be laid in such manner as to leave spaces at intervals laterally for the digging of trenches to permit the laying or repairing of gas and water pipes or conduits ofthe old style. At intervals along the streetthat is, at every street intersection or at' alternate street intersections or at greater or less distances-manholes may be provided to permit the drawing in and out vof Vthe cables. holes may extend throughout the width of the street, I preferably form the manhole of a width such that it extends across only a p0rtion of the width of the street, and in order to enable the conduits to the left and to the right Vof the line of athe manhole to enter the manhole such conduits are deflected laterally and downward as the same approach the manhole, so as to enter the manhole at a different level. In this manner conduits extending even the While the manwhole Width of the street may conveniently enter a manhole of one-fifth the width of the street, or even less. A conduit is thus formed which constitutes a part of `the .paving and which can be laid at the-time the street is improved and paved without considerable addi- IOO fore the street is paved, new streets may thusv be laid out without being subsequently torn up to permit the laying of the conduits for various purposes, and old streets at the time of repaving may be provided with sufficient conduit capacity to accommodate future demands. The hollow paving, moreover, lends an elasticity not present in solid structures, which, it is believed, will prolong the life of the paving. The paving-foundation inclosing the ducts will cost but little more than if laid solid. The additional cost of laying arches is partially compensated by saving of material which would otherwise be necessary to ll the openings. There is also compensation in increased elasticity of the paving itself.

I have illustrated my invention in the ac.- companyi-ng drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a cross-section of a street-paving embodying my invention.V Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view of a modification thereof on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is asectional View of another modification. Fig. 4 is a plan view Showing the manner in which the conduits enter the manhole. Fig. 5 is a sectional View' e or other material,which constitutes the pav` ing or roadway of the pavement. Instead of building the conduits of inverted channels they may be constructed in any other desired mannerf-as, for instance, by providing a series of circular openings c' through the body of concrete, as shown toward the middle of the roadway in Fig. l.

In Fig. 2 the concrete bodies l) and b' are illustrated as resting upon a supplemental foundation a. I have also illustrated in this figure layers f f of asphalt or other insulating material placed above and beneath the material immediately inclosing. the conduits to prevent the access of extraneous electrical currents to the cables .in the conduits.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a modification wherein two tiers of conduits are formed, While spaces are left between the conduits, whereby trenches may be dug for the laying of pipes or conduits of the old style.

In Figs. 4. and 5 I have illustrated the man ner in which the conduits communicate with the manhole, the width of the manhole being such that it extends throughout a portion only of the width of the street. The series of conduits l pass directly into the manhole,

while the series of conduits 2, which lie to the right of the seriesV l, are deiiected laterally and downward to enter the manhole just beneath the series 1. Likewise the series 3 upon the left are deflected downward and to the right to enter the manhole just'below the series 2. Likewise the series 4: and 5 are laterally and downwardly deflected to enter the manhole at lower levels.

As'shownin Fig. 4, the curves of the conduits as the same enter the manhole are gradual in order that the cable may be readily drawn into and out of the conduits without binding against the walls thereof.

I-Iaving described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isv l. The combination with the foundation material of a street-pavement, of a conduit formed therein and a roadway or paving supported thereon, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the foundation of a pavement comprising a body of concrete, or similar material, inclosing a conduit, of a roadway or paving supported thereon, substantially as described.

3. The combination with the foundation of a pavement comprising a body of concrete, or similar material, having a floor formed on the surface thereof, of inverted channels resting thereon, a body of concrete, or similar mate rial inclosing said channels, and a paving or roadway supported upon said second body of concrete, substantially as described.

4. The combination with the foundation material of a street pavement, of a series of conduits formed therein and extending throughout the width of the street, and a paving or roadway supported upon said foundation material, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a series of conduits arranged side by side of a manhole with which said conduits communicate, the conduits which are out of line with the manhole being defiected laterally and to a different level to enter the conduit at a different level, substantially as described.

6.` The combination with a series of conduits arranged sideby side, of a manhole with which said conduits communicate, the conduits in line with the manhole entering the same direct, while the conduits which are out of the line of the manhole are curved laterally and downward to enter the manhole at a lower level, substantially as described.

7. The combination with the foundation material of a street-pavement, of a series of conduits formed therein, a paving or roadway resting thereon, and a manholewith which the conduits communicate,the conduits which are out of the line of the manhole being deiiected laterally and downwardly to enter the IOO IIO

manhole ata lower level, substantially-as de- 1n witness whereof have hereunto subscribed. scribed my name in the presence of two wit- Io 8. The combination with a series of conduits nesses.

lying side by side, of a manhole with which the same communicate said manhole being of CHARLES H SEWALL less width than the series of conduits and hav- Witnesses: ing the conduit-openings arranged in horii W. CLYDE J ONES, zontal rows, substantially as described. M. R. 'ROCHFORIL 

